Vehicle repair shops/facilities that are engaged in the collision repair industry repair damaged automobiles which have been involved in an accident. Such vehicle repair shops typically obtain their business (i.e., automobiles to repair) from a number of sources, including insurance companies, automobile dealerships, automobile fleet accounts and walk-in customers, with insurance companies being the primary source for such business.
When an insured is involved in an accident that causes physical damage to the insured's automobile, the insured then contacts the insurance company to report the accident and “file a claim” on his/her vehicle insurance policy. The insured is then given a claim number, and the date of loss is recorded, typically in a computer database operated by the insurance company. The claim number can be used as a unique identifier for referencing to that particular claim with the insurance company. If the insurance company has an established automobile repair program (typically referred to as a direct repair program (DRP)) as part of its automobile physical claims (APC) process, the claim is assigned or dispatched to a designated DRP collision repair shop.
The claim is typically assigned by an insurance company to a repair shop electronically over the Internet or by fax. Upon receipt of the assignment, the collision repair shop typically calls the customer to schedule an appointment for the customer to drop off the car at the shop's premises for repair. Thereafter, a shop employee, typically an estimator, generates a cost estimate for the repair. To generate this estimate, many repair shops use a software application known as an estimating system. The estimating system can then export the estimate into a standardized file set, such as the CIECA EMS format discussed herein and known in the art. These standardized estimates can be communicated (often electronically via the Internet) to the insurance company for review and approval. If the review process reveals a problem with the estimate (e.g., the manual labor rate is not the same as an agreed upon rate with the insurance company), the estimate can be re-sent to the collision repair shop for further refinement. This can be an iterative process which continues until the estimate passes review. Upon approval of the estimate by the insurance company, the repair shop then generates a repair order (RO), which is a detailed invoice and a legal agreement between the repair shop and the insured concerning the repair of the vehicle. Once the insured agrees to the repairs set out in the repair order (typically via a signed authorization), the repair shop begins the repair of the damaged vehicle in accordance with the repair order.
Because the insured will be without an automobile during repairs, the insurance policy will often cover the expenses for a rental vehicle during that time. In this regard, the time of the repair, or cycle time, is an important estimate metric for minimizing claim costs to the insurance company. Therefore, the repair shop typically must specify a target delivery date to the insurance company, as well as the rental company and the insured, wherein this target delivery date identifies when the repair shop predicts that the repairs will be completed (and the customer can thus begin driving the repaired car again). This target delivery date can then be used as an initial benchmark for setting the period of authorization for a replacement rental vehicle. For example, if the repair shop forecasts that it will take 3 days to complete repairs of the customer's damaged vehicle, then the insurance company can choose to authorize a rental vehicle for the customer for a period of 3 days. If there is a delay in the repair and the initial rental period must be extended, then the repair shop revises the target delivery date and communicates it back to the insurance company and the rental company. The system involved in supporting this functionality is commonly known in the art as Target Date Management and Vehicle Status, which is part of a repair facility's body shop management system (BSMS), the BSMS being a software application used by repair facilities to manage their repair orders (ROs). With knowledge of a new and later estimated date of completion, insurance companies can be provided with an opportunity to decide whether to extend the authorization period of the customer's rental vehicle.
Historically, large volumes of telephone calls had to be placed among the employees of the insurance companies, repair shops and rental vehicle companies to coordinate the repair and rental process for customers with damaged vehicles, with redundant data entries being made in the respective companies computer systems as a result of information learned during the telephone calls. To aid in alleviating the burden of these telephone calls and the attendant data entry redundancies, one pioneering development in the industry has been a business-to-business rental vehicle reservations management system operated by Enterprise Rent-A-Car and known as the ARMS® system (hereinafter the “ARMS system”). With the ARMS system, an authorized business partner of a rental vehicle company (e.g., an insurance adjuster) not only can create rental vehicle reservations with a rental vehicle company but can also manage those reservations, all while using his/her Internet-connected computer. The following patent applications, the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe various aspects and embodiments of the ARMS system in greater detail: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/641,820, filed Aug. 18, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,038, (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/694,050, filed Oct. 20, 2000, (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/028,073, filed Dec. 26, 2001, and published as U.S. patent application publication 2003/0125992, (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/343,576, filed Jan. 31, 2003 (which is a national phase of PCT patent application serial number PCT/US01/51437, filed Oct. 19, 2001), and published as U.S. patent application publication 2005/0021378, and (5) the above-referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/865,116, filed Jun. 10, 2004.
Accordingly, in this environment, a need in the art exists for increasing the automation of sharing data amongst the players in the collision repair industry (particularly insurance companies, repair shops and rental car companies). More specifically, a need exists for automating the process by which the rental vehicle reservation management system receives data, particularly vehicle repair data corresponding to the vehicles that are undergoing repairs while an insured or claimant has rented an insurance replacement rental vehicle.
To address this need in the art, the inventors herein disclose, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a system for communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties, the system comprising: (a) a first computer system associated with a repair facility, and (b) a second computer system, wherein the repair facility computer system is in communication with the second computer system over a network, wherein the repair facility computer system has vehicle repair data stored thereon, the vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, wherein the repair facility computer system is configured to execute a software application, and wherein the software application is configured to (1) automatically retrieve vehicle repair data that is stored by the repair facility computer system without human intervention, the retrieved vehicle repair data including labor hours estimation data, and (2) automatically send the retrieved vehicle repair data including the retrieved labor hours estimation data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention.
The inventors also disclose a computer-implemented method for communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties, the method comprising executing a software application on a repair facility computer system, the repair facility computer system having vehicle repair data stored thereon, the vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, and wherein the software application executing step comprises (1) automatically retrieving vehicle repair data that is stored by the repair facility computer system without human intervention, the retrieved vehicle repair data including labor hours estimation data, and (2) automatically sending the retrieved vehicle repair data including the retrieved labor hours estimation data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention.
According to another aspect of the invention, the inventors herein disclose a computer-readable medium for execution by a processor, the computer-readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that are executable by a processor to (1) automatically retrieve vehicle repair data that is stored by a first computer system without human intervention, the retrieved vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair, and (2) automatically send the retrieved vehicle repair data including the labor hours estimation data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention, wherein the plurality of instructions are stored on the computer-readable medium.
As used herein, the terms “vehicle repair information” and “vehicle repair data” refer to any data relating to the process of repairing a vehicle, including data corresponding to a vehicle repair estimate and/or a vehicle repair order. As noted, this software application, which can be termed a “data pump”, is configured to automatically retrieve the vehicle repair data from the repair facility computer and automatically send the retrieved repair data to the data server without human intervention. However, it should be noted that it is the retrieval operation and the sending operation which are performed automatically without human intervention. It should be noted that human intervention may optionally be used to install the data pump onto the repair facility computer system.
The vehicle repair data may take a variety of forms, including repair estimate data and/or repair order data as explained above. The pump is preferably configured to not only retrieve and transmit new data files with repair estimates and/or repair orders, but also updates to existing repair estimate/repair order data files.
The data server is preferably configured to communicate at least a portion of the repair data to a rental vehicle reservation management system operated by the rental car company (such as the ARMS system). The rental vehicle reservation management system can then store this data in its database and thereafter make the repair data available to its business partners, such as insurance adjusters who access the rental vehicle reservation management system to manage insurance replacement rental vehicle reservations. Through this communication technique, the flow of repair data from the repair facility to the insurance adjuster can be completely automated (once it has been entered once into the repair facility via the repair facility's software application(s) for creating and managing repair estimates and repair orders). Thus, repair facility personnel need only enter vehicle repair data into their computer systems as they normally would in the course of business, and the data pump software application will operate to automatically extract that existing vehicle repair data from the repair facility computer system for transmission over a network to interested parties, all without intervention on the part of repair facility personnel.
By providing the insurance adjuster with repair estimate data such as labor hours estimation data in accordance with the embodiments of the invention described herein, at least three advantages accrue to the insurance adjuster. First, insurance adjusters are provided with the ability to access the repair estimate information without needing to place a telephone call to the repair facility. Further still, this access to repair estimate information can be provided to the insurance adjuster in an automatic and transparent manner such that the insurance adjuster need only access the ARMS system as he/she would normally do in the course of managing a replacement rental vehicle reservation to view and review the pertinent repair estimate data after it has already been matched to a particular replacement rental vehicle that the adjuster is managing. Second, by delivering the automated flow of vehicle repair data to insurance adjusters through the reservation management computer system (rather than through a different computer system), the insurance adjuster need only access a single application to learn of the information needed to properly manage a replacement rental vehicle reservation. Third, by promptly attaining the repair estimate information such as the labor hours estimation data in the manner described herein, an insurance adjuster is provided with the ability to make a more accurate and timely forecasts (particularly for an initial forecast) as to the appropriate length of time for which a replacement rental vehicle should be authorized. The labor hours estimation data is an important indicator of how long a driver will need a replacement rental vehicle while his/her vehicle is undergoing repair. After the initial authorization period for a replacement rental vehicle has been decided by the adjuster, the adjuster can then use the repair information (and/or updates thereto) available to him/her through the embodiments of the invention described herein to revise the authorization period for the replacement rental vehicle as needed (e.g., extending the authorization period to accommodate a delay in the repair process).
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the inventors herein disclose a computer-implemented method of providing personnel of a business partner of a rental vehicle service provider with access to vehicle repair data, the method comprising: (a) automatically retrieving labor hours estimation data from a repair facility computer system without human intervention, the labor hours estimation data corresponding to at least one replacement rental vehicle reservation and comprising an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at a repair facility, (b) automatically uploading the retrieved labor hours estimation data to a data server without human intervention, (c) communicating the labor hours estimation data to a reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by a business partner computer to thereby provide a personnel of the business partner with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations, and (d) providing the business partner computer with access to the communicated labor hours estimation data through the reservation management computer system.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the inventors herein disclose a computer-implemented method of providing personnel of a business partner of a rental vehicle service provider with access to vehicle repair data, the method comprising: (a) automatically retrieving labor hours estimation data from a repair facility computer system without human intervention, the labor hours estimation data corresponding to at least one replacement rental vehicle reservation and comprising an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at a repair facility, (b) automatically uploading the retrieved labor hours estimation data to a reservation management computer system, wherein the reservation management computer system is configured for access over a network by a business partner computer to thereby provide a personnel of the business partner with an ability to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations, and (c) providing the business partner computer with access to the uploaded labor hours estimation data through the reservation management computer system.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the inventors herein disclose a computer-implemented method for automating the communication of vehicle repair data, the method comprising: (a) accessing a server on which a software application is stored, (b) downloading the software application to the first computer system, (c) installing the downloaded software application on the first computer system, and (d) automatically executing the installed software application on the first computer system without human intervention, wherein the executing step comprises: (1) automatically retrieving vehicle repair data that is stored by the first computer system without human intervention, and (2) automatically sending the retrieved vehicle repair data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the inventors disclose a computer-implemented method comprising: (a) providing a software application for download over a network to a first computer system on which vehicle repair data is stored, the software application being configured to (1) automatically retrieve vehicle repair data that is stored by the first computer system without human intervention, and (2) automatically send the retrieved vehicle repair data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention, (b) receiving a download request from a requesting computer system, and (c) responsive to the receiving step, downloading the software application to the requesting computer system over the network.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon a review of the disclosure herein.